I want to thank all of you for your sweet comments and emails, and for following my blog!
It completely made my week!
I wanted to take some pictures of my home today to post, but we had a big storm roll in, so it will have to wait until next week. I tried to take these pictures in the brightest part of my house, but even these still turned out a little dark and muddy.
So, instead, today lets talk burlap! I have a couple posts coming up, of projects using burlap. But, first, I wanted to share how I prepare my burlap for use. It can be stinky and hard to work with, so I will share with you a couple of things that I do to make it more user-friendly.
First, I wash my burlap in the washing machine. I usually only do 2-3 yards at a time, so I am not sure how well it would work on a bigger volume. I use about half the regular amount of liquid detergent I would use in a normal load, and I add a splash of bleach to the bleach cup of my washer. I set my machine to the delicate cycle, warm water, and let it do its thing. If I am not happy with the smell, still, when it is finished, I will run it through once more. It will not get rid of the smell completely, but it will decrease it very significantly.
Then I pull it out and drape it over two chairs to dry.
{Update: I have done this with both the blonde (pictured) and the natural (light brown) burlap several times. The natural does get a little more fuzzy after washing than the blonde does. I just take it outside... shake, shake, shake it... and run a lint roller over it... and it works wonderfully! Not only does it take a lot of the smell away, it makes it a lot softer. Soooooo worth the extra effort! And, just to warn you, you're about to see my scrub bottoms in these pictures}
There are many variables when using this technique {ie: different washing machines, different burlaps, etc.} and it may not work for everyone. This is just how I do it and it works so well for me! I have never had a problem. {Note I have a front loader washing machine, and I usually use Tide} Also, I would not recommend using this technique on the new printed/patterned burlaps or colored burlaps.
After it dries, I Iron my burlap to get all of the wrinkles out of it. Depending on your iron, the method you use here will vary from mine, but I will show you how I do it and you can adjust as you need to. I use a medium high setting. On my Iron, it says "Silk." You want to make sure it is not on any of the automatic steam settings. I have learned from experience that too much of the water or steam will yellow your burlap and develop a weird film on your iron. Instead I just iron and do one squirt of the steam in one big motion over a large area of my fabric, following it up with a lot of steamless strokes.
Again, all irons are different, and you will have to play around with yours to determine which setting is right for you.
After you are finished ironing your fabric, it is time to even out the ends which will have frayed somewhat in the washer.
Locate a spot where you would like to trim your fabric back to and make a tiny cut.
Then pull out one of the threads, slowly and carefully.
It should pull from the entire length of your piece.
This will leave a perfect little line to use as a guide for cutting.
Cut along its entire length, being careful not to cut the lines above and below it.
When you are finished, you are left with a perfectly straight edge!
Repeat on the other side and you are ready to start your burlap projects!
Easy, Right!
If you would like to see my DIY Pottery Barn Burlap Table Runner Tutorial, Click HERE. Trust me, it is gorgeous and super easy!
You may also enjoy these burlap posts {just click on the picture to take you there}:
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| Pottery Barn Burlap Table Runner Tutorial |
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| Pottery Barn Frame and Burlap Mat |
On another note...
These pictures are pretty blurry and dark, but I wanted to share.
This is what happens when daddy is in charge of getting Ella dressed!
I don't know if it is the fact that I dress her up all of the time or what, but it didn't phase her a bit!
Funny Daddy.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
My Giveaway is open until Sunday night, so make sure you enter~!
Thanks again for reading!
Tami Crandall
I need to make 14 72" table toppers for a wedding. I am wondering how much the burlap shrinks when it is washed? Does it shrink evenly both lengthwise and crosswise? I bought a 50 yard bolt of 72" wide fabric so I will cut the first cloth and give it a try before deciding to wash the rest. If I don't like it for the table toppers, I am making 8 Christmas tree skirts and a variety of decorations to decorate the trees.
Kristen Whitby
It seems to shrink a little bit. It doesn't "shrink" per se, but the weave seems to tighten just a bit.
Cricket
love the tips....that child is adorable
Life Breath Present
Seems simple enough. I haven't worked with burlap at all yet, but I do love your idea on how to create a straight edge after washing! 🙂
srpprcrftr
Wow, seems washing burlap is quite a subject for commenting. Your tips are great along with some other commentors left. When certain subjects are discussed it's usually worth my time to read them, amazing what I've learned. Who say old dogs can't learn new tricks (I'm 74). So glad to get all this free advice and tested from all you great young women.
I washed some dark green burlap in washer last Fall, what a mess, lol. Still have it and just cut out some pieces here and there.
Thankfully I learned how to cut burlap early on my blog reading career. Thank heavens as I made some long valances to go over some lighter semi sheer curtain panels last summer. I loved how it looked over the white fabric with blue window pane design. Looked very summery and soft. Didn't wash that burlap but it didn't seem to smell bad, maybe it depends on where stores buy their burlap as to whether it will smell bad.
Formaldehyde? eeeeyywww No wonder I get terrible headache handling it. Love working with burlap tho, so many things I've made with it that I love.
I have many vintage table cloths I bought from a reputable dealer and some I got at antique stores/shows. Karen sends them clean and ironed, tries to get any stains out if possible. She sells at lower prices cloths that she's had for while that have stains or holes, at least she used to, haven't bought any in ages. I've been using some of cloths I bought for ruffles or ends of some kind on table runner or on pillow covers. The vintage prints look so nice on the burlap. If anybody is interested I'll get the name of her site. Have to look it up myself, since haven't purchased any for long time, was too tempting. Just send email to this address: [email protected]
After looking into your site I've got to subscribe, don't want to miss any photos of that adorable baby and your posts. She is so sweet and happy looking, love tights on her head, priceless. They are so precious, why can't they stay that way just little longer? Enjoy every minute with her you can, they grow up so quickly. I have 4 and they're already in 50's, last one is 44. Happy summer days what's left of them.